Acetylene-gas machine.



PATENTED NGV. 5, 1907.

L. H. MILLER.

AGETYLENE GAS MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR.15,1907.

ESHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 870,190. PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

' L. H. MILLER AOETYLENE GAS MACHINE.

APPLIOATIbN FILED APR.15.1907.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

L. H. MILLER.

AGETYLENE GAS MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.15,1907.

3 SHEETSSHEE.T 3.

. scription proceeds.

LOUIS H. MILLER, OF CAMPBELL, CALIFORNIA.

.acnrvtnn'n-eas MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1907.

Application filed April 15. 1907, Serial No. 368.130.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS H. MILLER,'a citizen of the United States, residing at Campbell, in the county of Santa Clara, State of California, havemade certain new and useful Improvements in'Acetylene Gas Machines, of which the following is a specification in such full and clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same. 4

The objects of this invention are to simplify machines intended for the making and distribution of acetylene gas for light and fuel so they may be operated by persons not mechanics, to make such machines so simple that they will not easily get out of order, and to make it almost certain that they will at all times deliver the proper amount of gas ior use.

Another object of the invention is to make a machine that will be secure from fire, the gasometer being covered with water during the time it is in operation.

A further obj ect-of the invention is to providesu'ch a machine with a valve that will at all times operate to cut off the supply of carbid to the generator.

A further object of the invention is to make a machine that will be easily cleaned out when the charge of carbid has been used up, and which is provided with means to wash the generator tank at the same tima A further object of the invention is to provide means to stir the residue in the generator tank and break up any lumps that may happen to form, the stirrer being also used to assist in cleaning the tank when the charge is used up. 4

A further object of the invention is to provide means to prevent the mass of carbid from piling up on the carbid valve and preventing it from closing properly.

Another objectof the invention is to provide means to wash the gas before it is allowed to mix with the mass of gas in the gasometer, thus cleaning it of' such impurities as are liable clogged up.

to cause the burners to become to allow the escape of gas to the outer air should the generator, for any reason, become overcharged with carbid.

Other objects of the invention will appearas the deing omitted. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken to showthe water connections and the interior construction of the machine, the plane of section passing through the center of the machine except at the pipes 15 and17 and looking from the right in Fig. 1, the cap being omitted. Fig. 4 is a broken view of a side of the tank showing the charging lever and the stay lever. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the carbid valve shield. Fig. 6 is a plan of the shield. Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view of the v carbid valve. Fig. 8 is a vertical section of the carbid valve. Fig. 9 is a side-view of the clamps on the inter-- locking device. Fig. 10 is a plan of the clamps on the interlocking device. Fig. 11 is a front elevation of the clamps. Fig. 12 is a plan of the check valve used in the regulator. Fig. 13 is a side view of the check tom thereof. .Inside the tank l is placed.the gasome ter 2 and on the top of the tank is placed the generator 3.. Attached to the top of the generator 3 is a cast iron neck 4 carrying the carbid holder 5. This neck 4 is fastened to the generator 3 and to the casting 6 by means of flanges, the generator being soldered to the neck, while the casting 6 is fastened to the neck by means of bolts At the top of the carbid holder is the casting 7 which is soldered to the holder. This casting is provided with a. cover 8 which is held in place by means of the clamp 9 and the screw 10. Inside the carbid holder is the carbid valve shield 11 which is set up above the bottom of the holder 5 by means of the legs 12, shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The object of this shield 11v is to relieve the weight of carbid on the valve 57, for it may happen that the carbid might cling together enough to prevent the valve from shutting properly, The legs 12 are quite narrow in order to prevent any quantity of the carbid from piling up behind them, and the shield allows only what material can run under it to come in contact with the valve. By this means it will be seen that only a thin layer of carbid must be moved when the valve moves up, instead of moving up intp the entire mass of carbid, as would be necessary were it not there. H I i The generator 3 is provided with end castings 13 and 1.4 to which the sheet metal that the body of the generator is made of is secured by soldering and rivets. In the head 14 are cast several bosses in which the pipes 15 and 17 are screwed, the pipe 16 being screwed into the same boss that receives the pipe 17, but from the inside. Each of the pipes 15 and 17 carry an ordinary service cockhaving its plug pointed to the right Fig. 1,-said cocks being numbered 18 and 19. The pipe 15 is for the purpose of determining whether or not a sufficient supply of water has been admitted to the generator and the pipe 17-is for connection with the water supply main. The pipe 16 is supplied with a plurality of small holes and is used to spray the inside of the generator, when it.is be ing cleaned, as wellas for fill- -ing the same.

At the center of the head 14 is placed the stuffing box 26 through which passes the rod 23 having theyoke 37, see Fig. 2, and carrying the cleaning blades 25 by means of the arms 24. At theback end of the generator the rod 23 is placed in abox 34 castin the head 13. The yoke 37 enables the blades 25 to be moved through an ,angle of nearly 180 degrees thus cleaning the bottom of the generator completely where I the sludge from the carbid may be collected.

At the bottom of the generator is placed the swing gate valve 27 having the closure 28 carried-by side straps, as indicated by the dotted'lin'es in Fig. 3, and having the handle 29. Now it will be observed that if any personopens either of the valves. 18, 19 or the gate valve 27 when the machine is in operation that there will be a wasteof the gas, or danger of filling the inachine with too much water as the case may be. To

prevent unauthorized persons from tampering with the valves I provide an interlocking device that is intended to be at once simple and eflicient, and at the. same time to lock all three'of the valves so they cannot be opened without the use of the key K. This interlocking device is made by securing two pipes 20,

21 to the heads of the valve plugs ,of the cut offs 1 8 "and 19respectivcly. These pipes are .sec'uredito' the square heads of the valve plugs by means of the clamps 35, shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11.' The square opening shown in Fig. 11 is; placed. on the square head of the .valve plug and the pipe 21 is then placed in the round happen to be dropped down first.

opening shown in Fig. 10, the projection 35 taking in a hole in the pipe, two rivets, shown in Fig. 9 are then placed in the clamps and riveted tight thus holding the pipes, for 20 is fastened in the same way, securely in place. Now it will-be noted that the swing gate valve 27 moves in a. vertical plane to drain the generator. Now to lock this valve along with the two upper .;valves the pipe 21 is extended down to such a point .as to make convenient the application thereto of the pipe fittings 30, 31, 33 and 37., the latter being a short pipe that extends over the top of the valve handle 29 of the swing gate valve 27. Since the valves 18 and 19 are .in the same planes vertically it will be noted that the pipes 20 and 21 are alined and that it is possible to lock allthree of the valves on the, generator by" The rod 22 has both ends threaded in order that it may be taken out of the pipes no matter which end may When the machineis to becleaned the barj36 is used 'to turn the agitator in "the generatof. The gasometer 1 is held down in the tank'l by means of the bars 44 which have the feet 45 projecting over the top of the gasometer, said bars 44 being bolted to the tank 1. To

hold the generator [more firmly in its place and to steady the pipes 38, 39 the bars 46 are also fastened to I the sides of the tank and to the flanges 48, four of said brace bars used. Running down into the gasome- 'ter 2 is the pipe 38 which is soldered to the gasometer inside and outside in order to make a perfectly gas tight joint. This pipe runs down nearly to the bottom of the gasometer 2 and at the bottom it has the perforated disk 43 secured to it. This disk is for the purpose of making the gas pass from the generator tothe gasometer in such fine bubbles as to completely clear the gas of any impurities. This pipe 38 has attached to it by means of the flange 48 the pipe 39, which extends up to a point near the top of the neck 4 of the generator. 2 v v I The gasometer 2 is provided with a series of holes near thebottom thereof numbered 41, to allow the water to pass through as the gas accumulates in the gasometer. In the pipe 38 is the rod 56 having attached at its top the valve 57, and at the bottom to the rod 55. This rod or bar extends from side to side of.

the tank 1 and passes through the holes 42 in the rods 53 are attached by means of threaded nuts to the bars 50 of the float 49, this attachment makes the position of the float, with respect to the bar 55 adjustable,

,. so.v the. quar-ltity of gas'inthe gasometer may be varied as wellasthe pressure of the same. The bars 50 are secure'd to the bottom of the float-49 and have secured to 52, both of. which are intended to strengthen the float 49. The float is made around a short piece of rather large pipe, and has a reinforced conical top. The function of this conical top to make the float able to resist the thrusts put upon it by the person charging'the machine and also to resist the thrusts put on it by the water when the machine is running. It will be noted that the float is of considerable size in order that it may securely hold the valve 57 closed, and if it was fiat the tendency of the repeated thrusts would be to bend the metal of which it is made and cause it to leak.

The refilling of the carbid holder is done by pressing the lever 64 to the position shown in Fig. 4 and securing it in that position by means of the stay lever 65, after which the cap 8 may be removed from the holder. This lever 64 is connected with a rod 63 provided with arms 62 and links 61, which latter are connected to the float by means of the straps 60. It will be noted that the links 61 are connected to the float at a point 90 degrees from the point at which the rods 53 are connected,

them the L shaped braces 51 and the diagonal braces.

so the float must have considerable strength to resist the thrust caused by the person filling the carbid receptacle, since the valve 57 'must be shut when the-carbid receptacle is opened.

float 49.. This valve must beof such a shape as to be easily pushedup intoa mass of packed carbid, for it 'lhary'conical valve is very difficult to push into the solidly packed carbid and in this invention the defect is remedied by providing a valve with a scriesof knife 'like edges to break up the-packed mass and which penetrates the mass easily. The knife like edges are An important feature is-the valve 57 carried by the.

carried by the top of the valve and between each sometimes may happen that a small quantity of mois- 5 ture may get into the carbid receptacle. The ordiprovided. This flange is very narrow in order that no carbid may collect on it, or at least in order. that only a minute quantity will do so, thus making it possible for the float to crush what little may collect and make a gas tight joint with the bottom of the casting 6 against which the flange 59 seats when thevalve is closed. This flange 59 also makes it almost certainv that no moisture will be allowed to get into the carbid receptacle. The "alve is self cleaning for any carbid on it is pushed oflby the casting 6 as 57 moves up through it. As the gasifrom the generator passes down the pipe 39- to the gasometer 2 the water in the tank 1 is raised to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig.2, and the machine is then ready to deliver the gas to the regulator 98 through the pipe 39 and the long nipple 90. The regulator is shown in section in Fig. 1, and is provided with the cut off valve 91 which is connected with the T 92. Below the T 92 is a drip receptacle 93 for catching any water that may condense from the gas. The

drip receptacle 93 is provided with a pet cock 94, to

allow the escape of" the water whenever it becomes necessary. Above the T 92 is a second T into which the fuel supplypipe 95 is connected, as well as the regulator pipe 96, which leads into the regulator through the check valve 97. This regulator is formed of an outside cylinder 98 and an inverted inn er cylinder,

or gas bell, 99, which is connected with the stem 108 of the check valve 97. I valve passes through the valve and 'is provided with the irusto-conical part 107 which seats against the valve seat 105. Now it will be noted that the valve body is provided with three guides for the stem 108. The purpose of these guides is to insure the proper closure of the valve. Ior unless the stem moves up perfectly central of the valve there will be a small opening left at the seat and thepressure in the regulator will not be -uniform at all times. To allow the escape of the gas from the valve it is provided with a series of holes 102 near the top thereof. The guides 103, 104 and 106 insureithe true vertical movement of the valve stem 1 08, and the top of the valve is flat to allow the inverted gas bell to rest .on it being much lower than the pressure used for fuel pur-' poses. When it is desired to change the pressure used in the lighting line all that is necessary is to change the size of the weight 100 on the top of the gas bell 99. The regulator is secured in its place on the side of the tank l. by means of a hoop 109 which passes entirely around it, but of which only one end and a short shown in Fig. l, and one end in Fig. 2.

The operation of the machine is as'follows: The mapiece -is at one time.

The stem 108 of the check chine is filled with water to the dottedlines shown in Fig. 3, the generator being filled from the pipe 16. while the tank 1 is filled irom the main by any suitable means. The valve 18 is left open till the water risesto thatpoint when it is closed and all three valves are then locked by dropping the rod 22 down into the pipes 20 and 21. When the proper amount of water has been run into the machine the lever 64 is operated to close the valve 57, and it is locked in its place by the stay lever 65, as shown in Fig. 4. The machine is then ready for the carbid to be placed in the holder 5; A charge of frornlO to 30 pounds is placed in the machine at one time and the cover is placed on the holder and screwed tight by means of the clamp 9 and screw "10. The object of thiscap is to prevent the escape of gas into the carbid chamber and to the air while the machine is running, for if the opening were not gas tight the gas would pass-up through the mass of loose carbid and'out into the air, whenever the valve 57 happened to be open to feed carbid. When the cap 8 is in place the lever 65 is removed from its position against the lever 64, the float'is then lowered a small amount allowing a small quantity of the carbid to fall down into the gencrtaor 3. The lever 64 is'then raised again to close the valve 57, since it would not be wise to allow a'lar'ge amount of the carbid to fall down into the generator Small amounts of the'carbid are thus repeatedly fed down into the ,generator and the gas begins to collect in the gasometer2 driving the water out of it into the upper part of the tank to the dotted lines shown in Fig. 2. When the water partly covers the float and causes it to rise as high as it can against the bottom of the holder flange 6, the lever 64 may be removed from the machine and the gas will continue to be made continuously till the supply of carbid is exhausted, working automatically. It will be noted that the carbid is fed into water that-is entirely separated from the water in the gasometer, and hence the latter does not require to be cleaned very often, a feature which is of advantage in washing the gas from the generator, since if it is washed in water that contains large amounts of impurities the washing will not be effective. When the carbid is exhausted the water is allowed to drain out of the generator, the valve 27 being-opened, the rod 22 first being removed from the hollow handles of the cocks 18 and 19. While the water isbeing allowed to run out of the machine the agitator 23,124, 25 is turned back and forth by means I of the lever 36 andthe sludge is also washed down'by the spray from the pipe 16 When the generator is clean it is again filled with water to the level of the I pipe 15 and the float is raised as before and the charge of-carbid placed in the holder 5. It will be notir ed that a weight 100 is placed on the top of the gas bell 99 in the gas regulator 98. This weight may be changed to a heavier or a lighter one atzwill, depending on the pressure desired. It will alsobe noted that the nipple 90 is screwed into the elbow on the pipe 39 till it touches the back of the same, the object of which is to give a small space in front of the nipple and prevent a rush of water into the regulator, should the water level in the tank change violently for any reason, which might occur with a short nipple. I

and clear terms as will enable those skilled. in the art to construct and use the same What I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is claimed below.

as described.

'2. The combination in an acetylene gas machine of a tank, gas generator, carbid holder, a float and-a carbid valve attached tosaid float and having a series of steeply, inclined spoon like depressions and a series of narrow knife like edges, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a tank, gas generator, carbid holder, a float, a spear like valve having a-series of steeply inclined spoon like depressions attached to the float, and a lever carried by the tank and attached to the float whereby the-latter may be raised or depressed at will, substantially as; described.

4. The combination of atank, a stationarygasometer therein, a cylindrical gas generator placed transversely of the tank and on the top thereof, a carbid holder placed on the top of the generator, a float in the tank and a valve which projects into the bottom of the carbid holder and which is connected to the float, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a' tank, a stationary gasometer therein, a cylindrical gas generator placed transversely of the tankv and on the top thereof, a carbid holder placed on thetop of the generator, a float having a.

conical top, and a valve connected to .the float and pro jecting into the carbid holder substantially as described.

6. The combination of a tank, a stationary gasometer therein, a cylindrical gas generatorplaced transversely of the tank on the top thereof, a carbidholder placed on the top of the generator, at float having a conical top, a valve connected t'o the float, a 'pipe extending from a point near the carbid holder to a point near the bottom Bil of the gasometer and a perforated plate carried by the pipe at its lower end, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of a tank, a stationary gasometer therein, a cylindrical gas generator placed transversely of the tank and on the top thereofla carbid holder placed on thegencrator, a float carrying a valve projecting into the carbid holder, and an agitator in the generator and adapted to stir the contents of the holder when the same is being emptied, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a tank, a gasometer therein, a cylindrical gas generator on the tank a carbid holder on the generator, a float carrying a valve projecting into the carbid holder, and an agitator having "a U shaped, yoke passing from end to end of the generator and adapted to. stir thecontents thereof when the same is being cleaned,

substantially as described.

9. The combination of a tank; a gasometer therein, a gas generator, an agitator extending from end to end of the generator, n' washout pipe opening in the generator, a ,water supply pipe extending from end to end of the generator and having a plurality of line openings, and means to supply the generator with carbid, substantially as described.

10. The combination of a tank, a gasometer therein, a gas generator cylindrical in shape and carried by the tank, an agitator extending from end to end of the generator and capableof a movement of nearly 180 degrees, a washout pipe opening into the generator, 21 water supply pipe extending from end to end of the generator and having a series of fine openings therein, and means to supply the generator'with carbid; substantially as described.

11. The combination witha tank, a gasometer therein, a gas generator carried by the tank, a float in the tank and carrying a valve which projects into the carbid supply holder, at carbid holder, carried by the gas generator, a washout pipe opening into the generator, a spray pipe extending from end to end of the generator, and an agitator capable of'movement in an arc of about 180 degrees extending'from end to end of .the generator, and an overflow pipe opening into the generator, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a tank of a stationary gasometer therein, a cylindrical gas generator carried by the tank, a carbid holder carried by the ,generator, a pipe extending from a point 'near the'carbid holder to a point near the bottom of the gasometer, a perforated plate carried by the pipe-at its lowest end, a float having a conical top, rods extending from the float down into the bottom of the tank, a bar connecting the rods and a long rod carrying a valve extending up through the pipe to a point near the carbid holder, substantially as described.

13. The combination of a tank, a stationary gasometer therein, a cylindricalggas generator carried thereby, a carbid holder carried by, the gas generator, a float in the tank, a valve projecting intothe carbid holder and con.- nected with the float, a rod carried by the tank and a pair of links connecting the rod to the float whereby the latter may be raised or lowered at will, substantially as described. 1

14. The combination of a tank, a stationary gasometer therein a cylindrical gas generator carried thereby, a carbid holder carried by the generator. and above the same, a float havlnga conical top in the tank, a valve pro holder to a point near the bottom,of the gasometer,

a perforated plate carried by the pipe, and means to raise or lower the floatat will, substantially as described.

15. In a valve for feeding calcium carbid, the combination of a cylindrical base, a narrow flange extending from the bottom of the base an d a series .of sharp knife like. edges carried by the base and extending above the same, substantially as described.

16. In a valve, for feeding calcium vcarbid, thecombination of a' cylindrical base, a'flange extending'from the bottom of the base, and a series of knife like edges carried by the base and meeting in a point above the same, substantially as described.

17. In a valve for, feeding calcium carbid, the com bination of a flanged base, a series of knives carried there by, said knives meeting in a point at a distance above the base, and filling between each pair of knives whereby a series of steeply inclined curved surfaces are presented to the material through which the valve moves, substantially as described.

Signed. at San Francisco county of same, State of California, this 8 day of April' A. D. 1907, in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS H. MILLER.

Witnesses 'J. H. WARE,

(LP. Gnmrin. 

